Merkel's visits church andmark mosque during Turkey trip german chancellor angela merkel visits turkey on monday with the two countries in deep disagreement over the mainly muslim country's faltering bid to join the european union.merkel also flies into turkey for the two-day stay amid differences linked to the huge turkish immigrant population in germany , where the world's largest turkish diaspora is located.the run-up to the visit has exposed the eu rift between the two countries , with merkel underlining her opposition to granting turkey membership and ankara hitting back . related articles 7 >>

Atom smas ther operations 'new era' for science the world's largest atom smasher , near geneva , is ready to start a new era of science , colliding beams of protons to learn more about the make up of the universe and its smallest particles . related articles 14 >>

Rio trial raises concerns four foreign firms: Australia a chinese court convened monday to deliver a verdict in the trial of four employees of mining giant rio tinto , the climax to a case that has jangled nerves among foreign investors and governments.australian executive stern hu and three chinese staff are charged with accepting bribes totalling around 13 million dollars and stealing trade secrets t they face possible sentences of up to 15 years in jail if convicted . related articles 25 >>

Els captures second-straight tournament ernie els survived a couple of shaky holes and was clinging to the lead at the arnold palmer invitational on sunday when thunderstorms stopped play.the south african veteran had a five-shot lead with six holes to play and appeared headed toward a second victory in as many starts when he hit into the water at 13 and took double-bofey.he bogeyed the next from a bunker , but still led kevin na by two strokes when the final round was suspended.after several hours of rain , officials called play for the day and scheduled the round to resume monday morning . related articles 6 >>

Does U.S. really learn anything new in Iraq? thousands of anti-war protes t veters took to the streets of the us capital saturday , on the seventh anniversary of the us-led war in iraq in a show of frustration widely ignored by the media and publif.as the national marathon wound down in the city , protesters after midday gathered outside the white house bearing signs alluding to the high cost of the war both in money and human lives and decrying the use of unmanned aircraft , or drones , to bomb us enemies . related articles 6 >>

Reporthers Speak With Missing Rights Lawyer in China gao zhisheng , one of china's highest-profile dissident lawyers , who had been missing for more than a year , has resurfaced and is appearently living in mountains in northern china that are known as a place for buddhist pilgrimages . related articles 7 >>

Turkey makes case againist sanctions on Iran russia does not rule out the possibility of imposing reasonable sanctions against iran over its nuclear program , a favoreign ministry spokesman said thursday t spokesman andrei nesterenko said russia always wanted to continue dialogue to resolve the iranian nuclear problem despite the little progress that has been achieved until now t but if the stalemate continues , russia may support imposing additional pressure to iran through sanctions t nesterenko stressed that such sanctions must be direct .. . related articles 7 >>